Asset management has always been an important part of commerce, and the ability to identify an item and locate its whereabouts may be considered core to companies that ship items from one location to another. For example, tracking packages is important to organizations of all kinds, whether it be a company keeping track of inventory to be sold in its stores, or a package delivery provider keeping track of packages being transported through its delivery network. To provide quality service, an organization typically creates and maintains a highly organized network for tracking its items—packages, people, objects, etc. Effective management of such networks allows lower cost, reduced delivery time, and enhanced customer service. And efficient deployment of the network helps manage costs.
In addition to tracking packages, parties that ship and receive packages may also need information regarding the conditions of the packages, such as the temperature and humidity of the package. For example, a customer that has ordered a box of wine may want to monitor the temperature of the contents of the box to determine if the temperature and/or humidity goes above or below a set range. Likewise, the party that ships the package may also want to monitor the conditions of the package to ensure that the content arrives in the proper condition.
Conventionally, this tracking function may be provided by a variety of known mechanisms and systems. Machine-readable barcodes are one way organizations keep track of items. A retailer, for example, may use bar codes on items in its inventory. For example, items to be sold in a retailer's store may each be labeled with a different machine-readable bar code. In order to keep track of inventory, the retailer typically scans or otherwise captures an image of the bar code on each item so that a back-end part of the retailer's operation can keep track of what is coming in and leaving their possession from suppliers. In addition, when an item is sold to a consumer, the bar code for that item is scanned or captured to track sales and inventory levels.
Similarly, a package delivery provider may utilize machine-readable bar codes by associating a bar code with packages to be delivered to a recipient. For example, a package may have a bar code corresponding to a tracking number for that package. Each time the package goes through a transit checkpoint (e.g., the courier taking initial control of the package, the package being temporarily placed in a storage facility while being moved from a pickup point to a delivery location, and the package being delivered to the recipient, etc.), the package's bar code may be scanned. Bar codes, however, have the disadvantage that personnel must manually scan each bar code on each item in order to effectively track the items.
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags are another known mechanism for tracking items. In contrast to barcodes, RFID tags do not usually require manual scanning. For example, in a retail context, an RFID tag on an inventory item may be able to communicate with an electronic reader that actively interrogates for a tag and, when it does, it detects items in a shopping cart and adds the cost of each item to a bill for the consumer. The RFID tag usually transfers a coded number only when queried or prompted by the reader. RFID tags have also been used to track items such as livestock, railroad cars, trucks, and even airline baggage. These tags typically only allow for basic polled or actively interrogated tracking, but do not provide a way to improve asset management using information about the environment in which the items are tracked.
Sensor-based tracking systems are also known which can provide more information than RFID systems. Shippers, carriers, recipients, and other parties often wish to know the location, condition, and integrity of shipments before, during, and after transport to satisfy quality control goals, meet regulatory requirements, and optimize business processes. However, such systems are typically expensive given the complexity of the sensors, and may provide extraneous and redundant item information.
Systems exist that deploy different types of nodes in a wireless node network used for logistics related tracking and monitoring operations. Some networks may have a server at a top level, a master node at a middle level of the network, and a less complex node (generally referred to as an ID node) at a lower level of the network. In some implementations, it is known to associate and otherwise pair an ID node with a shipping item (such as a box, package, product, or other packaging for the product being shipped). One problem that may be encountered with such a wireless network of nodes involves the dependence of the ID node on the master node, which can in some situations create a large overhead burden of communication traffic between multiple ID nodes and a master node associated with those ID nodes. Such master node processing burdens may be experienced when there is an unduly burdensome concentration or density of package ID nodes that, for example, enter a logistics transport or facility. In such a situation, the master node may face an undesirably dynamic processing load for monitoring and controlling aspects of how the ID nodes need to be operating.
Further needs exist related to enhanced methods and systems for tracking nodes and their movement while inside containers or vehicles. Still further needs exist in how to better use radio elements of a node when deployed in such a logistics related wireless node network so to allow for improved positional awareness when managing items, nodes associated with the items, and/or containers for such managed items.
Additionally, the prospect of a dynamic congested operating node environment may cause technical communication problems where nodes are not able to communicate with other nodes. Thus, there exists a need for improved ways and systems that facilitate an intelligent and adaptive approach to managing congested wireless node landscapes so that nodes may still effectively communicate with one another while operating in such a congested environment.
To address these types of requirements and logistics related technical problems, one or more methods, apparatus, and systems are needed that may leverage one or more elements of an adaptive, context-aware wireless node network that may use enhanced node communication management for highly congested operating node environments